Computer-maker Raspberry Pi gears up for London Stock Exchange float next week

Computer-maker Raspberry Pi is set to raise £157m in a hotly anticipated IPO in London this month in a boon for the London Stock Exchange after a barren period for tech listings.

According to terms released this morning, the Cambridge-based tech outfit is set to raise $40m (£31.5m) in fresh funding via the float while its largest shareholder, the Raspberry Pi Foundation, will offload a chunk of its shares to investors.

Shares are likely to be priced between £2.60 and £2.80 through June 10, with conditional trading starting on June 11. Under the terms of the deal, about 20 per cent of Raspberry Pi’s shares will be traded freely on the market.

Some £6.8m worth of shares will also be earmarked for retail investors.

Raspberry Pi’s Cambridge neighbour Arm, which snubbed London last year to float in New York, will provide cornerstone investment for the float and will buy around $35m (£27.6m) worth of shares. Arm currently owns 3.3 per cent of the company.

The float will be a welcome boon to the market after a barren period in which new listings have fallen off a cliff.

Just four firms floated in London in the first four months of the year, but the London Stock Exchange is now on the cusp of landing both the listings of Raspberry Pi and the fast-fashion firm Shein in what would be the market’s biggest deal in over a decade.

According to reports today, executives from Saudi Aramco are also courting investors in London to gauge appetite ahead of a potential listing. Nigeria’s Dangote refinery announced last week it was aiming for a dual listing on the London and Lagos bourses.

The dearth of IPOs has fuelled fears over the capital’s status as a financial centre and triggered a wave of reform efforts from government and regulators.

After Arm decided to float in New York, the Financial Conduct Authority scrambled to overhaul its listing rules in a bid to tempt more firms onto the market. Changes are set to take effect this summer.